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Tobacco causes more than 4,300 deaths every year in Colorado—more than alcohol, AIDS, motor vehicle accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. As part of its continuing efforts to prevent and reduce the toxic health effects of tobacco use, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is launching a new online resource, www.TobaccoFreeCO.org.

This new web hub will serve as the state’s primary resource for Coloradans who want to quit smoking; community members who want to get involved in reducing tobacco use; and those who want to learn about the impact of tobacco use, secondhand smoke and tobacco industry marketing.

Surveys show nearly one in six Coloradans (17 percent) smoke cigarettes. In Denver County, one in five people ages 18 and older are smokers. Smoking and other types of tobacco use, such as chewing tobacco and snuff-like products, end up costing each Colorado household an average of $579 each year in health care-related costs.